Closure
by wildcat7898
Summary: Spock leaves his home near Atlanta to help the Romulan people before their world is destroyed by a supernova.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Closure

Summary: Spock leaves his home near Atlanta to help the Romulan people before their world is destroyed by a supernova.

This story assumes knowledge of the events depicted in the 2009 Star Trek reboot movie. It also assumes familiarity with my S/U stories beginning with "A Woman's Touch." If you have not read those stories, you need to be aware that in my storyline, Spock and Uhura have a long and happy marriage during which Saavik is like a daughter to them, and Spock remarries 19 years after Uhura dies. You can find the entire series on .

This story follows "The Waking Man."

**Closure, Prologue**

Spock stood high in the back of the auditorium and watched the restless crowd beneath him. Despite the bittersweet undercurrent in their emotions from having lost so many classmates, the cadets were understandably excited. They had not even officially graduated, although graduation would be little more than a formality at this point, and they had participated in a mission that had averted the annihilation of Earth. Some of them had even been personally responsible for the success of the mission, and no one had been more responsible than the man at the front of the auditorium waiting for the ceremony to begin. The news had not yet been made official, but he had no doubt that Jim was to be recognized as the new captain of the Enterprise. He did not attempt to suppress his feeling of gratification at having contributed in no small way to Jim's success.

The cadets were all so young.

Their lives had been set upon a path that was no less valid than the path his own life had taken. The catastrophic events that had created this timeline had seemingly wiped out his own timeline, yet he knew that his own timeline had existed. He had lived that life. It was real. Could his life as he knew it have simply been erased, just like that? From the moment he had understood that his actions had altered reality, he had pondered the possibility of returning to the future and warning himself to act more quickly, bypass that last quality check, skip that last night's sleep, do anything to get himself into the ship and on his way to delivering the red matter sooner. He could save Romulus and save Vulcan, and in the process cause the reality he was experiencing now never to have existed. Did he have the right to do that? These people, with their lives full of promise and excitement and love and loss, did they not cherish their existence just as much as the people in his own universe cherished theirs? And had his universe truly ceased to exist? The more he considered it, the more he thought that it continued without him, merely running in parallel with this one.

So, assuming that it continued without him, he could go back for no other purpose than simply to return. He could be with his wife and family again. When he had used a ship to do this before, it had been with only a small group of people who had managed essential ship functions. With the proper planning, he could pilot a ship by himself and accomplish the same thing. He would go backward in time to a point before the timelines diverged, and then he would go forward again in the timeline he wanted. Of course, when he, Jim, Nyota, and the rest of them had traveled back in time to find the whales, they had merely been visitors to the past, and their actions had not spun off a parallel timeline. In this case, he would stay once he reached his destination. However, if he were extremely careful and returned to the same point at which he had left, it would also not spin off a parallel timeline. He could step right back into the life he knew.

He remembered the last uncomplicated day in the life he knew. There were no difficult decisions to be made that day, when he, T'Val, and T'Mya went to South Carolina for Rachel's wedding.

**End prologue**


	2. Chapter 2

**Closure, chapter 1**

"Father! Father! The wedding is tonight!"

As Spock stepped through the front door of his home near Atlanta, he was met by the sight of his daughter running down the hall to greet him, with her long dark hair swinging behind her and the thudding of the purple snow boots on her feet echoing through the house.

He swept her into his arms and settled her on his hip. "Yes, T'Myakam. I am aware of that. Your mother made it quite clear that if I did not come home early on this very special day, she would 'have my hide,' as our old friend Dr. McCoy would have said." He studied the large, puffy boots on her feet. "I know that you are very fond of your boots, but do you think that your sandals might be a better choice for tonight?"

"I do not like my sandals. They are not purple."

"We are going to the beach in July. Snow boots are unsuitable, and we purchased your sandals specifically for this event."

She frowned. "I want to wear my boots."

"You will spoil the appearance of your new dress." He put her down. "Do as I say and put on your sandals."

She crossed her arms. "I do not like those sandals! They hurt my feet."

"T'Mya."

"No!'

"Now."

She pressed her lips together in a stubborn line and glared at him until her shoulders finally slumped. "Yes, father," she said mournfully. "I will wear the sandals."

As she started dragging her feet back to her room in utter defeat, he said softly, "Very well. You may wear them. However, you must take the sandals with you and promise that you will put them on for the ceremony."

She immediately brightened and scampered back to her room, calling out "Thank you, father!" just as she vanished from his sight.

"You spoil her, Spock."

He turned to see T'Val approaching from the kitchen with an expression of amused tolerance on her face.

"Perhaps," he replied, raising two fingers in her direction, "but I assert that any father who is fortunate enough to have had a daughter at the age of 153 is entitled to indulge said daughter."

She pressed her fingers to his. "I assert that your wife was at least partly responsible so should have some say in the matter."

"Yes, certainly, but you must concede that it in this case it was the father who had the foresight to select a wife young enough to bear children for him."

Suddenly serious, she said, "Not that young. I was blessed, too, Spock. We both tend to spoil her. I know that we agreed not to raise her in the strict Vulcan fashion, but we must be careful to ensure that she is still a well-mannered and productive member of society."

He smoothed a strand of hair away from her forehead. "Ah, T'Val, she is merely four years old, and we have only agreed to let her wear snow boots to a casual beach wedding. It will not doom her to a life of crime."

T'Val looked down at her feet and took a heavy breath. "I know," she murmured. "Forgive my foolishness. Sometimes I still do not believe my good fortune at having a kind husband, a strong and handsome son, and a beautiful daughter. It has been many years since I fled Vulcan and my… situation there, but sometimes I feel as if everything we have here could simply vanish."

He put his arms around her shoulders and drew her close. "You know that I will never let that happen."

"I do." She relaxed against him for a moment, but then pulled away and walked briskly back to the kitchen. "But I do wish that we had never bought those accursed snow boots when we visited your cousin's family in Montana last January. She would sleep in them if I did not pry them off her feet at night. The only consoling factor is that eventually she will outgrow them. Now, I must finish making the salad Saavik asked us to contribute to the meal."

He followed her into the kitchen, "Speaking of our strong and handsome son, I understand that he is bringing a guest tonight."

She glanced over her shoulder as she picked up a knife and started chopping an apple. "So you have spoken to Saavik, as well?"

"Yes. She said that he will be escorting a woman that he met at Starfleet Medical, by the name of Li Song. Why have we heard nothing of her?"

She gave him a wry look. "You know that it is often the parents who find out last."

"Evidently so." Washing his hands, he said, "I understand that he is quite taken with her."

"I will be interested to find out how Saavik knows so much about it."

"It is very possible that she is embellishing reality." He remembered when Saavik was a girl and she was convinced that he should marry Nyota, or when she was older and encouraged him to be with T'Val. "She has been known to do that."

"But it is also possible that she is astutely assessing the situation. She has been known to do that, as well," replied T'Val, clearly thinking of the same examples.

"Perhaps so." He took a knife from the drawer and picked up one of the apples. Joining her at the large cutting board, he asked, "How soon must we leave?"

"I told Saavik that I would help her set up, so no later than 1500 hours." She put down the knife. "Actually, if you do not object to finishing the salad, I must count the silverware I borrowed from the neighbors so I can ensure that I return it to the proper owners."

He nodded and bent to his work as she went over to the table and started lifting forks, spoons, and knives out of boxes.

…**..**

Standing between Saavik and T'Val on the South Carolina beach with the setting sun slipping ever closer toward the roof of Saavik's house behind them, Spock was struck by the radiant expression on Rachel's face as she gazed upon her groom, Seamus. Rachel had white-blonde hair and rosy cheeks like her mother, and it was hard to believe that she could be descended from people as dark as Saavik and Michael. Also like her mother, Rachel had a lively and outspoken personality, to put it politely. In this respect, it was very easy to believe that she was descended from Saavik. Saavik had actually despaired of her youngest great-grandchild's ever finding a mate, but Spock had pointed out that Saavik had found a patient man in Michael, so perhaps Rachel would be able to do the same. And, of course, she had.

He slid his eyes to the left so he could see T'Val without appearing inattentive to the ceremony. Someone who did not know her well would not be able to detect the melancholy expression on her face, but it was very evident to him. Rachel had been born the year Spock and T'Val married, and because Skonn had arrived soon after that, he and Rachel had been close childhood companions. T'Val was fond of the groom and very pleased for Rachel, but this marked an important milestone in the lives of not just Rachel, but Skonn, too. Spock knew that like any mother, whether human, Vulcan, or some other race, she was struggling with the fact that her child was no longer a child.

As if on cue, T'Val's eyes drifted to the other side of the circle where Skonn stood with Li Song.

Skonn and Li Song had arrived only moments before the wedding, so neither Spock nor T'Val had been able to speak with them. In addition, Saavik had been so busy with the preparations for the wedding that he and T'Val had not been able to get any details from her, either. He sincerely hoped that he would not have to wait substantially longer to satisfy his curiosity, although as he watched, Li Song looked up at Skonn, and the expressions on their faces when their eyes met might have just provided the answer he sought. T'Val sighed softly, and he knew that she had seen it, too. She sighed again an instant later, but this time it was tinged with exasperation, and he allowed the corner of mouth to turn up when he realized that she was looking at T'Mya, who stood next to Skonn wearing the purple boots. He and T'Val had tried to get her to join them when the ceremony was ready to begin, but she had pretended that she did not see them, no doubt because she knew that they would make her remove the boots.

There was a quick smattering of applause from the crowd, and Spock returned his attention to the ceremony just in time to see Seamus kiss Rachel. The young couple turned toward their family and friends, and an instant later he heard the pop of multiple champagne bottles and other sounds of celebration.

He and T'Val joined the crowd that had gathered around the bride and groom to offer their congratulations. Rachel followed the Vulcan practice of pressing her palm to each of theirs to demonstrate familial affection, but when Skonn walked up behind them, she threw her arms around him and gave him an enthusiastic hug. He gamely returned the embrace, and Spock was amused to note the expression of surprise on Li Song's face. Skonn had possessed natural Vulcan dignity from the moment of his birth, and he had taken easily to the Vulcan mind rules and standard mode of behavior. People perceived him as Vulcan and treated him as Vulcan. However, his family knew better. Underneath his Vulcan reserve was a young man who moved easily between the Vulcan and human sides of his family. Clearly, Li Song was to see a facet of him at this event that she had never seen before.

T'Mya tugged on Rachel's skirt, so Rachel picked her up. Skonn introduced Li Song, and they exchanged a few words, but soon he and Li Song had moved away to allow someone else access to the bride and groom, and Skonn brought Li Song over to meet his parents. T'Mya remained in Rachel's arms, clearly relishing her place at the center of attention.

"Mother, Father," said Skonn. "This is Li Song. Li Song, these are my parents, Spock and T'Val."

"Greetings, Li Song," said Spock. "It is good to meet you."

"Ambassador Spock and Doctor T'Val, it's good to meet you, as well. Skonn has told me so much about you."

Resisting the urge to chide his son by saying that Skonn had told them nothing about her, Spock merely said, "Please call us Spock and T'Val. There is no need for such formality."

"I understand from Saavik that the two of you work together at Starfleet Medical," said T'Val, with emphasis on the words 'from Saavik.'

Skonn had the good grace to look slightly abashed. "Yes, mother. Li Song was recently reassigned there from the USS Constellation."

"Ah, so you are newly acquainted?"

"No, we have known one another since medical school." He exchanged a glance with Li Song and added, "We have been friends for a long time, but recently things have changed."

Li Song smiled. "Yes, they have."

"I did not deliberately keep this information from you, Mother," continued Skonn. "It is simply that I asked Saavik if I could bring a guest, and I was unable to resist the interrogation that followed."

"Quite understandable, son," said Spock.

They were interrupted by the appearance of T'Mya, who exclaimed, "It is time for the toasts, but you do not have champagne!"

"Then we shall have to remedy that, T'Mynah Bird," said Skonn. He caught the eye of someone carrying a tray of glasses filled with champagne.

"I am not a Mynah Bird," retorted T'Mya. "I tell you that every time."

"So you do," he said.

They each took a glass of champagne from the tray, then turned toward a pinging sound for the beginning of the toasts.

…**..**

Much later in the evening, Spock sat next to Saavik in the shadows and watched everything that was happening around them. T'Mya had fallen asleep in his lap, and he could tell that Saavik was tired, as well. She had worked very hard to organize this wedding, and it was good that she could finally relax.

She leaned close to him and pointed at Skonn and Li Song, who were standing with Rachel's first cousins Sylvia, Juanita, and Steven. The four humans in the group were laughing uproariously at something, and although Skonn didn't join them in the laughter, it was clear that he was enjoying himself as he put his arm around Li Song's waist with possessive pride.

"Skonn told me that he enrolled in two exomedicine classes last week," Saavik said. "It is quite an unexpected thing for a neurology resident to do."

"It is likely that Li Song will return to space soon, and he intends to be eligible for starship duty in that eventuality. I am concerned about the fact that he has deviated from the course he set so many years ago, and all because of a women he has only recently begun seeing."

"He has known her for a long time, Spock. The change in his plans might seem sudden, but when you have been friends as they have, sometimes it becomes clear very quickly that the relationship will last." She paused to ensure that T'Mya was still asleep. "You are hardly the person to refute this, because it happened with you and Nyota."

He nodded grudgingly. "Your point is valid. We did not know where the change in our status would take us, but we did know that it was a path worth taking. My life would have been greatly diminished if we had not endeavored to be together."

"All of our lives would have been diminished." The hint of a sad smile crossed her face. "Nyota would have enjoyed today."

"Yes, she would have. She did not have the opportunity to know any of the children in Rachel's generation, but she had a great depth of feeling for the generations before Rachel's, and she would have loved the later generations no less."

"I still miss her so much, Spock. It has been 47 years since she died, but hardly a day goes by when something does not remind me of her. Every time it happens, it hurts as if we lost her only yesterday."

"I know. I miss her, too."

Saavik gazed over at T'Val, who stood with Saavik's son Derek far down on the beach where Derek's youngest great-grandchild hopped around in the shallow water under the moonlight. "Does it ever bother T'Val that you still miss Nyota? I doubt that I would ever remarry, but if I did, I think it would be difficult for my new mate to cope with my memories of Michael."

"T'Val understands, Saavik. We are all shaped by the experiences of our pasts, and it is illogical to deny that this is true. My time with Nyota was good, and I will always hold my memory of her close. T'Val, on the other hand, still suffers from having had a cruel bondmate who gave her no choice but to flee with only the clothes on her back. However, these experiences made her who she is, and neither she nor I would have wished for it to happen any other way. And not everything in my past is good, either, such as my relationship with my father. Although he and I were eventually able to get past my joining Starfleet, we were never able to recover from his marriage to Perrin."

Saavik scowled. "It still makes me angry that she came between the two of you. I have always maintained that your father must have already been suffering from Bendii's when he married her."

"And I have never disagreed with you. At any rate, my point is that T'Val's unhappy past gave her strength to shape her future. My dysfunctional relationship with my father gave me wisdom to be a better father to my own children. And my successful marriage to Nyota gave me the foundation with which to build a successful marriage to T'Val."

"This is all just a long-winded way of saying that I should be open to the possibility of finding another mate someday."

He raised an eyebrow. "There was much more to my message than only that. But I do believe that you would be unwise to dismiss future possibilities before they have a chance to happen. Like you, I did not expect to find another person with whom I would want to share my life, but I am pleased that I did."

"So am I, Spock." She reached over and rubbed T'Mya gently on the back. "When I was a child, I wanted you and Nyota to get married and provide me with someone I could regard as a sibling."

"Nyota would have liked that, too, but it was not to be. However, I must add that she was perfectly content with the family she had. She could not have asked for a better daughter than you, Saavikam."

"And I could not have wished for a better mother." A mischievous light came into her eyes. "It is good that this is another area in which T'Val is content not to try to compete with Nyota. I am delighted to finally have siblings, but I do not think that I could have borne a new mother."

Matching her wry tone of voice, he said, "Considering that T'Val is 21 years younger than you, any attempt she might have made at 'mothering' you would have been awkward, to say the least."

"At any rate, it is good to have her as my friend. You have been fortunate to have had two good marriages in your life, Spock. Perhaps someday I will be able to say the same."

"I hope so, Saavikam. That would make me very happy."

She met his eyes in surprise at such a bluntly emotional statement, and he nodded. She transferred her hand from T'Mya's back to his arm and gave him a brief squeeze, and then they both turned back to admire their thriving and joyful family.

**End chapter 1**


	3. Chapter 3

**Closure, chapter 2**

Spock had just risen from the breakfast table when he heard the computer in his study signal an incoming call. The house was very quiet. T'Val had taken T'Mya into Atlanta to run some errands, and he had intended to weed T'Val's garden and after that catch up on the work he had missed yesterday. However, the signal's tone indicated that the message was coming across on official channels and that it was urgent, so it appeared that work was going to catch up with him, instead.

He seated himself at his desk. "Computer, accept call."

The screen brightened to reveal the face of a young Andorian woman with the seal of the Federation Council behind her.

"This is Spock," said Spock.

"Ambassador Spock, please hold for the Federation President."

Spock raised an eyebrow when the screen grew dark. He knew that the President was vacationing in Costa Rica, so for him to be contacting Spock early on a Saturday morning meant that whatever had prompted this call was certain to be fascinating.

The screen brightened again. "Mr. President," said Spock.

"Ambassador Spock, I was contacted this morning by the Romulan High Command."

Spock raised both eyebrows this time. "Indeed?"

"I will be brief. They informed me that a nearby star will soon become a supernova, and when it does, it will consume the entire Romulan system. They are desperate, and they have reached out to us for help."

Spock looked away from the screen as he attempted to digest the enormity of this news. Romulus was a densely populated planet with a wide gulf between the people of privilege and everyone else. His past dealings with the people of privilege had generally been less than favorable, but he possessed a great fondness for all of the others. He had spent four years undercover on Romulus with the goal of reunifying the Romulan and Vulcan peoples, and although he had been forced to leave before his task was finished – he had actually not expected any other result over such a short term – he knew that he had planted a seed that would someday sprout. The young people he had met were destined to become tomorrow's leaders… or they had that potential. Was their potential never to be realized? He was filled with a sudden, deep sorrow at the likelihood that this would be the case.

He was careful not to convey the turmoil of his emotions when he faced the screen again. "Which star is it?"

"Gamma Epsilon Five."

"How much time do they have?"

"They estimate no more than three months."

"Three months," he echoed, shaking his head. "This is very little time. Am I to assume that they have attempted to resolve this problem on their own and failed, since we are only now learning of it?"

"Correct. They have begun evacuating the planet, but events are progressing much more rapidly than they had anticipated, and they believe that 87 percent of the population will still be there when it happens."

He closed his eyes briefly. "Mr. President, we must provide any assistance that is in our capacity to provide."

"That is my thought exactly. We must forget the enmity we have always shared with the Romulans and do whatever we can to help. I have already ordered all available transport ships to Romulus to assist in the evacuations, but you and I both know that the impact of this will be negligible."

"Any life saved is a life saved. I commend you for taking this action. However, we must think on a grander scale now. We must stop that star from going nova."

The president smiled enigmatically. "I had hoped that you would say something like that. They asked for you specifically, by the way. I, myself, know that you have a unique set of skills as both a scientist and a diplomat, but they know only that they trust you."

"I am honored that they believe me up to the task. Now I will attempt to prove that their faith is justified, but I caution you that nothing has ever been done on this scale before."

"Believe me, Ambassador, I am very aware of that, but I have faith in you, as well. My aide will send you a communique with the names of your contacts on Romulus. Keep me informed."

"I shall."

The president terminated the call, and Spock leaned back in his seat. To remedy this situation, he could think of only two options – halting the supernova process or eliminating the star entirely. He was not aware of any technology that could halt a supernova. Many scientists had tried, but nuclear fusion and gravity were two of the most basic and immutable properties of the universe itself. He did not know which of these was causing this particular supernova, but it did not matter, for the result would be the same.

This left only the second option, eliminating the star entirely. The problem with this approach was that using an explosive to destroy a star would be just as damaging to surrounding space as the supernova itself would have been.

Unless…

What if instead of exploding the star, they found a way to implode the star? He had read something just last week in a scientific journal about research underway on Vulcan that could conceivably allow him to do just that.

"Computer," he said. "Contact Telar at the Vulcan Science Academy. Indicate that the matter is urgent."

…..

It was late in the afternoon by the time Spock finally left his study. He had heard T'Val and T'Mya return several hours ago, but they had left him alone as was their habit when he was in his study. He walked out to the yard to find T'Val taking care of the chores he had intended to complete this morning. She immediately stopped working and studied him carefully.

"What is it, Spock? You look as if you have the weight of the world on your shoulders."

He sat heavily at the small table under the tree near the garden. "You do not know how accurate your observation actually is."

Frowning, she took off her gardening gloves and joined him at the table. "What is it?"

"I have had quite an eventful day. The Federation president contacted me this morning and told me that Romulus will be consumed by a supernova in three months if nothing changes. They have asked for the Federation's assistance."

"Oh, no. This is horrible. Can anything be done to help them?"

"The president has already sent ships to aide in the evacuation, but the Romulans estimate that only 13% of the population will make it off-planet in time. There is another option, however. I have been in touch with the Vulcan Science Academy, and we have developed a plan to use red matter to turn the star into a black hole before it is too late."

"Red matter? What is that?"

"It is a newly developed substance that collapses the empty space within an atomic structure. It has only been used in small, controlled experiments at this stage, but the implications are immense. Theoretically, when used within a massive body such as a star, it would initiate a chain reaction that would ultimately result in the gravitational forces required to produce a black hole."

"This sounds very promising. How will it be delivered to the star?"

"I have learned of the prototype for a new ship that is small, fast, sturdy, and highly maneuverable. It is a one-man vessel that was intended for use in studies of high warp speeds, but with some modifications it can be outfitted with the containment field required to transport red matter."

"Cannot the red matter simply be delivered via a photon torpedo? It seems to me that a starship could do this with the support of a full crew and with technology that already exists."

"No, that would not work. The force of the solar wind would make it impossible to guarantee that a photon torpedo would hit its mark, and of course a miss would be devastating. In addition, a starship is not responsive enough. The variables associated with a supernova are wildly unpredictable. It will require a small and agile ship, and a pilot with the scientific background to adjust the calculations on the fly, so to speak, and the navigational background to pilot such a technologically advanced ship."

She gave him a long look. "I do not like where you are going with this."

"I am leaving for Vulcan tomorrow, T'Val. There is much work to be done, and it will require every bit of expertise that we can bring to bear."

"Please tell me that you are going to assist in the preparations and leave the rest of it to someone else."

He looked down at his hands momentarily before meeting her eyes again. "I will be piloting the ship and delivering the red matter myself. I possess the unique blend of experience that is essential to this mission. I can simultaneously pilot the ship and process the calculations. In addition, the Romulans asked specifically for me. How can I tell them no?"

"By simply saying 'no'," she said with surprising anger in her voice. "Have you not done enough for them?"

"They will die if we do nothing. Is that what you want?"

"No, of course not. But they have taken so much from you, Spock. You were gone for four years, before. Four years! You missed so much of Skonn's childhood. You weren't here when Leonard McCoy died, you weren't here when your father died, and worst of all, you weren't here when Michael died. Saavik needed you, and you were gone."

"I know, and I will always regret that I was not here to help her through that, but she understood that the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the one. So it is in this case. At any rate, I will not be gone for long. In three months, this will be over and I will come home."

"It is dangerous, Spock. I was so afraid that you would not return before, and now I must live with that same fear again. I cannot bear it. Please reconsider. If not for yourself, then for me and your children. Skonn is grown, but T'Mya needs her father."

He leaned forward and put his hands on either side of her face. "There is very little danger to me. I have confidence that we can safely contain the red matter and that the vessel will allow me to fly close, deliver the red matter, and be back in warp and far away before the star implodes. I will be back, I promise you."

She put her hands over his hands and closed her eyes. "You cannot promise such a thing."

"I will be back."

She did not reply, so he gently tightened the pressure on the sides of her face and said, "T'Val, look at me."

Finally, she complied, and he repeated, "I _will _be back. I will make certain of it."

She nodded, and they rose together to return to the house.

…..

So now he stood in the back of the auditorium and remembered those last moments before he had left. He had picked up his small daughter and told her to behave while he was gone, and he had held up two fingers to his wife for one last tender embrace. The concern in her eyes battled with the obvious pride she felt in what he was doing, and although he had experienced the usual surge of emotion at saying goodbye, his mind had already been on the task ahead, and once he was out the door his thoughts did not stay with them. Now they were all he could think about.

He could go back, just as he had promised to T'Val on that fateful day. He could look in her eyes again. He could hold his small daughter, and he could admire his strong and accomplished son. He could pretend to be affronted when Saavik teased him, and he could stand shoulder to shoulder with her and experience the satisfaction of knowing that time marched on in the lives of her children, her children's children, and beyond.

But it would be selfish.

He was responsible for everything that was happening right here and right now, both the good and the bad. He had already assumed the role of leader among the surviving Vulcans, and although there were other capable leaders among them, it would be a betrayal to leave them now. Also, by destroying Vulcan, Nero had eliminated the scientists who would have eventually invented red matter. As a result, Romulus was doomed. It was likely that he, himself, would not still be alive to help the Romulans, but ironically, the reunification he had striven so hard to accomplish would now inevitably happen. Neither the Vulcans nor the Romulans could afford for it not to happen. He would have to ensure that there was someone who would see it through in his place.

He thought back to his surreal conversation with himself this morning. He had told his younger self to do what felt right and stay in Starfleet. At the time, he had not considered that there could be opposing alternatives that both felt right. Now, however, he knew that even though it would feel exceedingly right to be with his family again, it also felt right to help the Vulcans establish their new world. At any rate, he had essentially promised his younger self that he would help the Vulcans, thus freeing young Spock to follow his heart.

Perhaps this was the sense of finality humans so often called 'closure'. His own existence was drawing to a close, but his younger self's existence was just beginning. There was so much more that he had wanted to tell his younger self, but he had merely instructed him to do what felt right and stopped with that. It was the most crucial advice he could provide, at any rate. He had spent much of his own life denying his heart, but perhaps his younger self would come to realize more quickly that in the end, a heart was the only thing worth following. If young Spock did what felt right, the rest would unfold as it should.

Below, Jim approached Admiral Pike and accepted command of the Enterprise. This Jim no longer needed him, and although it was tempting to seek Jim out and spend more time with him, he knew that he must step aside. He had already interfered enough in this timeline, with both his involvement with Jim and his advice to himself.

"Thrusters on full," he murmured, before turning away and leaving the auditorium.

He exited the building by the back entrance, and as he headed toward the hangar where he had spent the morning supervising the outfitting of the ships that would take the Vulcan refugees to their new home, he met the crowd of cadets, instructors, and Starfleet personnel who had departed the ceremony from the front entrance. He saw many familiar faces. They nodded politely at him, but of course they showed no sign that they recognized him as anything other than one of the few surviving Vulcans. This was the sort of recognition he had been receiving from everyone over the last few days, and he knew that he would have to become accustomed to seeing the expressions of sympathy, pain, and shared outrage on the faces of everyone he encountered from now on.

He went around the corner of the building and stopped suddenly. There, standing at a crosswalk, was his younger self talking to a small, dark-skinned woman with long straight hair. The woman's back was to him, and he was surprised at the hair and the slimmer physique, but he felt his chest seize up with the realization that this could be only one person.

"Nyota," he whispered.

In his own timeline, he had not known her at the Academy. He had already been in space for some time before she appeared one morning on the transporter pad with another young lieutenant who had just been assigned to the Enterprise. On that day, it did not occur to him in his wildest imaginings what they would eventually become to one another, but he had been struck by her composure, her serenity, her obvious intelligence, and her undeniable beauty.

The woman on the sidewalk did not touch the man she was with, but she stood very close to him, and the way she looked up at him spoke volumes. In his own timeline, he and Nyota had lost so many years. It had taken them a long time to realize what they could mean to one other, and then even longer to commit to spending the rest of their lives together. In the process, they had inflicted unnecessary pain on each other, and they had missed their window of opportunity to have children.

Nyota and his younger self said their goodbyes, and she turned around and walked in his own direction. She looked at him curiously as she went by, and although he couldn't prevent an illogical rush of dismay at the utter lack of warmth and recognition in her eyes, his heart felt as if it would leap out of his side at the opportunity to be so close to her again. She swept past, and then she was gone. He watched her recede down the sidewalk.

When he turned back, he saw that his younger self had not noticed him, for it was obvious that he only had eyes for Nyota. When she was out of sight, young Spock headed away in the opposite direction.

Spock remembered his vow to himself that he would not interfere any further. He remembered how satisfied he had felt that events would unfold as they should. But he remembered how much Nyota had treasured her family. He and she might not have undertaken the formalities that would have made Saavik officially their daughter, but Nyota had poured all of her love into the only child she was ever to be given, nevertheless.

In this reality there would be no Saavik. It was difficult for him to comprehend a universe without her, but the intersection of Vulcan and Romulan that had produced her would not take place, for there would be no Vulcan science mission to encounter the Romulans at the military outpost. In turn, she would not give birth to a Vulcan/Romulan/human child who would then begat his own children, one dark and one fair, each perfect in his or her own way and cherished by Nyota until the day she died.

He came to a decision. Walking quickly down a sidewalk that ran parallel to the path his younger self had taken, he watched to make sure he did not lose sight of the shiny dark head that was visible over the crowd leaving the ceremony. The younger man took a sidewalk that branched further away, and Spock had to adjust his trajectory to compensate. He was receiving a few odd looks now, because he was almost running. He would have to be careful not to appear out of breath when he reached his goal.

Finally, young Spock entered the hangar where they had talked this morning and where Spock had actually been going in the first place. He relaxed, for he knew that he had cornered his quarry. He would be able to approach himself calmly and say what it was he had decided to say.

He entered the building and saw the younger man walking slowly down the long aisle between the landing bays, his fingers dancing across the surface of a padd as he inspected each ship being outfitted for the trip. Spock cut across the back of the bay so he could be standing casually by one of the ships when the younger man arrived.

He watched out of the corner of his eye and turned when the time was right. Feigning surprise, he said, "We meet again, Spock."

The other man nodded. "I see that preparations are proceeding on schedule."

"Yes, they are. I will be departing tomorrow for the new Vulcan home world. There is much to be done before the arrival of the refugees."

"In that case, as we have already taken our leave of one another, farewell."

The younger man took a step back as if to leave, but Spock halted him with an upraised hand.

"One more piece of advice, if I may."

"Of course."

Spock clasped his hands behind his back and moved closer. "Just moments ago as I crossed campus, I happened to see you standing with Lieutenant Uhura. In my reality, she and I did not know one another at the Academy, so I was fascinated to see that you are already acquainted."

Obviously caught off guard at the turn the conversation had taken, the other man said, "Ah, I was her instructor in Subspace Transmission Physics. She was one of my most outstanding students."

"I do not doubt it. Eventually, she will become one of the best communications officers Starfleet has ever known. Indeed, in my timeline, she was very fulfilled in both her career and her personal life. But she did always have one regret."

Spock remembered that day in the doctor's office when they had sat together and heard the news. "I won't tell you that it's impossible," the doctor had said, "But it's very unlikely. The difficulty you've already been through with the procedures that have failed is just the tip of the iceberg. We could keep trying, but I have to be honest. The personal toll would be extreme, and I believe that the result would be the same. Do you really want to keep subjecting yourselves to that?" Nyota had turned to Spock with a single tear rolling down her cheek, and they had both known that they were done. They would not keep trying.

He was brought back to the conversation when the other man said, "Her one regret – what was it?"

Spock took a heavy breath. "That she waited too late to have children."

The other man's eyes widened before he looked down at the floor. "I see," he said. After a long moment, he met Spock's eyes again. "And your advice is…?"

"Do not let her."

The other man did not reply, clearly thinking about what he had been told. Finally, Spock said, "Now we shall say our farewells again. Goodbye, Spock."

"Goodbye. And… good luck."

Spock allowed the corner of his mouth to turn up at the echo of his parting words from their discussion this morning, and he nodded with satisfaction as he watched the other man walk away.

There. _Now_ he had closure.

He looked up to see his father standing with the Vulcan elders at the side of the cargo bay, so he headed in that direction. His old life was over. It was time to find out where his new life would take him.

End story


End file.
